2010 Ford Taurus SHO: Ford’s Attempt at a Muscle Sedan?

This one is getting really mixed first-drive reviews. People want to like it, and they find its performance and engine by and large good. The steering leaves much to be desired, the brakes are inadequate, the interior is Audi-esque, the handling is good for a big car. And this is a big car: 4,368 pounds of big car, 998 more than the original. You might like its looks; I think it’s a tank.

The new SHO is a very different concept from the one that debuted in 1989 with a 220-hp V6 (later a V8) developed and built by Yamaha. By taking a family sedan and transforming it into a production car, Ford caught the imagination of more than a few niche buyers. Production ended ten years later with 100,000 cars sold. Still, according to Car and Driver’s Tony Quiroga, Ford dumbed it down over that time, trying to make it appeal more to the mainstream.

The new SHO has what Ford calls an Eco Boost, 365-hp, 350-lb-ft/torque twin-turbo direct-injection V6, with a flat torque curve, all-wheel-drive, and, most agree, a great paddle-shifted automatic transmission. Jalopnik described the ride:

Put your right foot down and the SHO is fast, if unexciting. The ride is firm yet controlled in the European luxury mold and the interior is exceptionally isolated from wind, road and engine noise. There’s absolutely no body roll. The electric power-assisted steering is direct and well weighted, but almost completely absent of feel. Combine that with the extremely large proportions—at 202.9″, the Taurus is only 9″ shorter than the Crown Victoria—and the limited vision created by the high belt line and you have a car that’s pretty challenging to place accurately at speed on a winding road.

Autoweek is cheerleading for the car, with the headline “Hot-Rod Ford Taurus SHO Lives Again.” From what I read, this is hardly the case. Ford has created a high-powered luxo sedan—very quiet, very big, very mainstream, but hardly a performance sedan. Fully equipped, you’re looking at $39,825, and finally, but for the engine, it’s not all that different from the Taurus at $27,995. Where’s the beef?